ok so at at local tourny they're doing a skills comp. does anyone have any experience with these? similar to worlds, there will be distance, accuracy, and mta. what exactly is mta? something about throwing a disc in the air and seeing how long it stays before catching it? anyone have and advice, tips tricks or whatnot for something like this?

Yeah for MTA have the wind coming in around 10:30-11 o'clock, if you have one use a condor around 165, if not go for something large diameter (where the discs max weight is 200g) maybe even a fastback wham-o, a Lynx, mothing heavier than 165g

MTA is maximum time aloft, its just time in the air I believe, and I dont think you have to catch you disc, RTC is Run Throw and Catch, which you throw a disc as far as you can without throwing it further than you can catch it.

Thatdirtykid wrote:MTA is maximum time aloft, its just time in the air I believe, and I dont think you have to catch you disc, RTC is Run Throw and Catch, which you throw a disc as far as you can without throwing it further than you can catch it.

What you refer to as skills competition is often referred to as field events in an overall tournament. Maryland just held their MD States which included MTA and accuracy and the following day golf was included in the overall point total.

Maximum Time Aloft is a self caught flight competition with the winner decided by the player with the longest time recorded between release and a one handed catch. The disc can be bobbled but time stops at point of first contact and can't be touched by more than one body part at a time (no traps or two handers). TRC (throw,run,catch) is similar but measures the distance between the throw and the point of catch instead of time.

Fastbacks are the most common disc used but some throw premi weighted golf discs. I used to throw a premi Lynx (similar to a condor). I got great heigth and fantastic times but it was too difficult to catch so I switched to fastbacks that I still get 8-10 second throws with but are a lot easier to catch (they descend slower).

Accuracy is pretty cool too. You can't use golf discs (lightweight zephyrs are an exception) so ultimate lids are the most common. You throw from various stations and try to put it through a square usually constructed of PVC pipe. I remember the square to be about 4'x4'.

Thatdirtykid wrote:MTA is maximum time aloft, its just time in the air I believe, and I dont think you have to catch you disc, RTC is Run Throw and Catch, which you throw a disc as far as you can without throwing it further than you can catch it.

Thatdirtykid wrote:wow, that must make things interesting, how much would it suck to have a great throw and drop it ?

I've experienced it many times. I've had several 10 second throws that were zeros on the scorecard because I dropped (or trapped) the disc. It really sucks when you're down to your last throw (you get 5) and you haven't recorded a catch yet. That's why I switched from the lynx to a fastback.

swel304 wrote:ummm I'm confused here.. how do you throw a disc and catch it? straight up?

You've never done it before, not even casually? I thought everyone had done this at one point or another as a kid, if not in competition.

No you don't throw straight up.
I'd say it's at about a 45 to 55 degree angle upwards and either directly into the wind or slightly right of into the wind (rhbh). Your best bet is throwing a fastback frisbee (the cheap ones that advertisers generally give away) and you want a slight to moderate turnover. In an ideal (as in one that yields a good time) the disc will come down 100 or so feet to your right and either even with where you threw it or slightly behind you.